Iran and its northern neighbor Armenia plan to establish a free
trade zone in the border region to enhance mutual economic and trade
ties.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran and Yerevan intend to increase
economic collaboration and strengthen bonds of friendship.

Rouhani made the statement in a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Karen
Karapetyan in Tehran (Oct. 11).

Expressing satisfaction with the harmonious course of political relations
between the two countries, he said the two governments will work harder to
exploit their untapped potentials for closer economic cooperation.

“The Iranian government sees no boundaries for expansion of relations with
neighboring countries, particularly Armenia,” he said, adding that energy,
transit and industrial fields can be appropriate sectors for developing
greater cooperation.

Rouhani stressed the need for promoting peace in the chaotic region, saying
Tehran and Yerevan can work to ease the “worrying” situation in Syria, Yemen
and Iraq.

“War and escalating regional tensions are to nobody’s interest and all
regional governments must work toward lasting peace and calm,” he said.

The Armenian prime minister lauded Iran’s policy of promoting friendship in
the international arena. “Iran’s balanced positions on regional issues are
helpful to peace and stability in the region,” he said.

A day earlier, Karapetyan and Iran’s Vice President Ishaq Jahangiri
co-chaired a meeting between the two sides’ economic delegations, where
three memorandums of understanding were signed in cultural, technological
and veterinary fields.

During the meeting, Jahangiri said Iran is keen on deepening relations with
neighboring countries, and sees no obstacle to boosting cooperation with its
neighbors, especially Armenia.

Lauding Tehran-Yerevan ties as “age-old,” the VP said the relationship
between the two nations is based on numerous commonalities.

Jahangiri also said various fields of gas, electricity, agriculture,
converting industries, technical and engineering services, as well as
transport, can be among the areas of cooperation between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Karapetyan pointed to some joint projects and stressed the need
to eliminate the problems hampering the implementation of these projects.

The Armenian prime minister also emphasized his country’s readiness to boost
bilateral trade with Iran remarkably.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, Karapetyan arrived in Tehran Oct. 10 at
the invitation of Jahangiri.

Free Trade Zone

The Armenian prime minister lauded Iran’s policy of promoting
friendship in the international arena.

Iran and its northern neighbor Armenia plan to establish a free trade zone
in the border region to enhance mutual economic and trade ties.

The plan was announced by visiting Armenian PM in a meeting with Iranian
Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani in Tehran on Oct. 10.

“Yerevan has invited Eurasian and European parties to get involved in the
free trade zone activities,” Karapetyan was quoted as saying.

“The free trade zone would be of significance for foreign businesses given
its proximity to Iran,” he said, adding that Iranian merchants could gain
economic boom in the zone by taking an active role.

He expressed Armenia’s willingness to form a new type of relations with Iran
with a new outlook.

For his part, Larijani pointed to the reciprocal investment between the two
neighbors, saying they should develop a clear understanding of each other’s
trade needs.

He also hailed the decision by Yerevan to remove visa requirements for
travels between Iran and Armenia, saying it has greatly helped the tourism
industry in both countries.

More Gas Imports from Iran

Armenia is willing to import more gas from Iran, Karapetyan said at a
meeting with Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh in Tehran (Oct. 11).

At the meeting, the sides explored avenues for boosting natural gas trade.

“Apart from the natural gas that is exchanged with electricity between the
two states, Armenia is willing to import more gas from Iran,” Karapetyan
said, noting that serious talks are underway with the National Iranian Gas
Company.

According to him, swapping natural gas from Turkmenistan to Armenia was
another issue the two sides nodded in agreement.

“Tehran has agreed to cooperate with Yerevan in swap operations,” he added
without elaborating.

Welcoming Armenia’s interest in purchasing more natural gas from Iran,
Zangeneh said promoting collaboration with the neighboring state in gas and
power sectors is on the agenda.

The two sides also exchanged views about establishing a joint venture for
transferring Iran’s gas to Georgia, among other destinations, via Armenia.

In 2004, Tehran signed a 20-year contract with Yerevan to export gas to its
northern neighbor. Based on the agreement, Iran’s natural gas is used by
Armenian power plants to generate electricity, which is then exported to
Iran. The cross-border gas pipeline was commissioned in 2007 and exports
began in mid 2009. Armenia’s Energy Minister Levon Yolyan has already
offered the prospect of raising gas imports from Iran to more than 3 million
cubic meters per day by 2018 from the present 1 mcm/d.

Reportedly, Iran and Armenia are already connected by two power transmission
lines and a third power line, to be completed by the end of 2018 at an
estimated cost of $107 million, is part of an agreement reached by Iran,
Russia, Armenia and Georgia to synchronize their power grids by 2019.

The new infrastructure will raise Iran-Armenia electricity exchange capacity
fourfold to around 1,200 megawatts.

During the meeting, the Iranian side pointed to the broad scope of
activities carried out by the Ministry of Economy, saying “the body
undertakes the largest portion of international economic interactions in
Iran and given the high level of political relations between Iran and
Armenia, bilateral business ties need to be developed.”

He described Armenia as a close regional friend of Iran, adding that the
friendship between the two countries should be strengthened through further
economic relations.

“Within the framework of tariff preferences, Iran and Armenia will apply
reductions against goods entering the two countries,” Karbasian stated.

He also highlighted the need for expansion of banking ties, cooperation in
free trade zones, avoidance of double taxation and investment in joint
productions by the two states.

For his part, Harutyunyan expressed satisfaction with the holding of the
meeting and called for development of economic relations between the two
countries.

Referring to Tehran-Yerevan age-old history of relations, he voiced his
country’s preparedness to expand economic relations in IT and customs
sectors.

Referring to constructive ties between the two nations, the Iranian ICT
minister said Tehran and Yerevan need to promote their bilateral relations.

He pointed to cooperation with Armenia in the area of international internet
transit, adding, “In the past two years, Iraq’s transit to Europe via
Armenia has increased by 10 times. In light of that, we decided to conduct
trilateral negotiations in order to pave the way for international transit
to Turkmenistan, in the same way.”

Azari Jahormi also invited Armenia’s ICT authorities to participate in
Tehran’s International Telecom Exhibition, saying that the opportunity would
familiarize them with the potentials of Iran’s private sector for
cooperation purposes.

The two ICT ministers also conferred on increasing postal exchange and
developing data centers as part of boosting bilateral ties.

Martirosyan, for his part, pointed to the deep-rooted relations of Iran and
Armenia and stated that he will address the topics raised in the meeting
more seriously.

He also noted that the two countries will further their cooperation in the
fields of internet transit, postal exchange, information technology and
cybersecurity.

He invited Iran’s ICT minister to visit Armenia in order to address the
topics discussed in the meeting.

Iran Ready to Establish Joint Venture with Armenia

Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari also
held a meeting with Armenia’s Minister of Economic Development and
Investments Suren Karayan.

During the meeting, the Iranian side suggested Armenia to establish a joint
company with Iran for boosting bilateral trade exchange.

He described bilateral cooperation on Eurasian talks as admirable, adding
that the joint committee of the two countries has begun good talks on
preferential tariffs that will be pursued until reaching a final agreement.

He also said that Iran is ready to establish a joint company for advancing
goals of the two countries and enhancing cooperation in free trade zones in
order to lay grounds for further trade exchanges.